Twin Cities public schools districts race to fill hundreds of open positions amid teacher shortage
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Time is running out for school districts to ensure there are enough teachers to fill every classroom and serve every student in time for the new school year.
"We're not desperate yet because it's not Sept. 6, but we are in a situation where we need to hire good people for positions open right now." said Danaya Franke, assistant director of recruitment and retention at St. Paul Public Schools. "Teaching is a really noble profession where you can really make a change in the world if you teach kids."
Administrators at SPPS this week will share new data on recruitment with the school board, which includes an updated list of 333 open positions, including 122 teachers.
"Special education is always our hardest positions to fill," Franke said, noting that teaching English as a second language to is also proving difficult. "A big portion of filling teaching positions is educating the public about who can be a teacher. You don't have to be a traditional come out of high school, go to four years [of college], get your teaching license and start teaching at age 22. There are a lot of options for folks."
The Minnesota Department of Education offers several "tiers without fears" for licenses, enabling folks who haven't taken the traditional track to get in front of a classroom soon. SPPS also has a special site for prospective applicants.
On Monday in St. Paul, more than 250 new educators took part in an orientation at Washington Technical Magnet School, including Melissa Levingston.
"I wasn't really thinking about being a teacher," Levingston, a licensed fitness trainer and small business owner, told WCCO. "I wasn't working toward being a teacher. It just came into my life because someone asked."
That someone, Levingston recalled, was the Central High School principal, who happened to be a client of her gym Major Body Fitness.
"Anybody who wants to help people be their best selves, I think they should definitely give education a try," Levingston said. "Why not? I'm excited. I want to be a part of the change."
